Stop the snobbery and give Hooper a chance for England

The five British clubs in the Champions League scored a total of 13 goals last week. One of those goals, and only one, was scored by an Englishman: Gary Hooper of Celtic.

Hooper’s slick, sharp finish against Spartak Moscow sent Celtic on their way to an historic victory in Russia and leant credibility to the international claims of the 24-year-old.

It was the fourth consecutive game in which Hooper had scored but as the previous three had been against Dundee, Raith Rovers and Motherwell, they received a sceptic’s response south of the border.

Top form: Hooper netted as Celtic won in Moscow

But last Tuesday was different, this was the Champions League, this could not be dismissed as lightly as Hooper’s four goals against Raith were.

Celtic manager Neil Lennon has talked up his striker’s international merit but Roy Hodgson is yet to venture to Glasgow, or elsewhere, to see Hooper and left him out of his recent England squad.

Sunday was a chance for him to offer another reminder of his abilities, but Hooper didn’t get one chance in his 70 minutes in the 1-0 victory against Heart of Midlothian. Having begun the second half with a slight limp, Hooper was replaced. Those who were in Moscow said Hooper’s effervescent all-round display had sapped his dynamism.

‘He played well again today,’ said Lennon, ‘but he’s probably run himself to a standstill with the amount of football he’s played recently.’

So, if the FA had bothered to send anyone to Celtic on Sunday, they would have left not much the wiser. Hooper has demonstrably had more effective games.

Jumping through Hoops: Hooper had exhausted himself going into Sunday's win at Hearts

He is one of those on-the-shoulder lurkers of a striker, who can also knit the play. He did so in bits and pieces but this was a tepid match centred in midfield - and for that reason Fraser Forster, the Celtic keeper called up by Hodgson, was quiet, too. The only goal was scored by former Manchester City man Georgios Samaras.

Hooper now gets a fortnight off before Celtic’s next Champions League game - at Barcelona - and may need the rest. But Lennon is hopeful Hooper will be in contention for England’s friendly against Sweden next month.

‘He’s hard to ignore,’ said Lennon. ‘His finish in Moscow was brilliant because it came at pace and he was running at pace. I don’t care what standard you play at, when you see that quality, you know he can do it at any level.’

That is central to an assessment of Hooper, or Forster, or anyone not in England’s Premier League. Because Hooper came to Celtic from Scunthorpe United there is a sniffiness towards him, part of a shallow notion that all players start at the same level.

This fails to take into account the
variety of development. The game is littered with exceptional teenagers
who did not progress to the anticipated standard, yet there remains
snobbery about footballers not beginning at Academy level.

In the mix: Fraser Forster has been called up to the England squad

Those with this view should be handed the video of Chris Waddle’s mesmeric years in Marseille. Waddle came through at Tow Law. At 22, Ian Wright was at Dulwich Hamlet. Hooper may not be in their class yet but it is the scale of his development that intrigues.

Lennon scouted Hooper personally when he was at Scunthorpe, so he is not an unbiased witness, but he said: ‘He’s developed physically and he’s got awareness, game intelligence. But he’s always been a goal scorer and the hardest thing in football is to score goals.’

Not in Scotland, comes the rebuttal. But Hooper probably thinks that scoring against the likes of Rennes and Udinese in the Europa League last season should have alerted some to his rising contribution.

He has had England disappointment before - 16 months ago Stuart Pearce took Danny Welbeck and Daniel Sturridge - as well as Nathan Delfouneso and Connor Wickham - to the European Under 21 Championship, athough Hooper may console himself that he is now ahead of Delfouneso and Wickham.

But Welbeck, Jermain Defoe, Wayne Rooney and Andy Carroll all began their weekend matches. That is competitive; so is scoring in the Champions League.

Clinical: Hooper's has a prolific goalscoring record

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